Gas lift pumping apparatus



Dec. l, 1931. M, T. ARCHER v 1,834,369

GAS LIFT PUMPING APPARATUS F'led March 31. 1928 Patented Dec. 1, 1931 UNITEDfsTATEs PATENT ol-rlcll-I MERTON T. F PITTSBURGH, PIELN'NSY.L'VANIIIA, ASSIGNOR T0 TBE NATIONAL SUPPLY COMAINY, 0F TOLEDO, 01H10, A. GORP/ORATION' OF Omo 'L GAS LIFT Pomme urm'ros application mea Haren s1, 192s. serial 1ra-acum.

My invention relates to gas -lift pumping apparatus whereby a gaseous agent, such as natural gas, air or the like, is jetted into a column of liquid, such as oil in a well, and

causes the liquid to become levitated or to weigh less per cubic foot, whereby the liquid rises and overflows at the top of the well. More particularly this invention relates to apparatus of the type just'described wherein the operating fluid, such as gas or air, can not transmit its pressure to the liquid-producing strata which is cut olf by one or more valves from such liquid as is being so levitated or jetted. Apparatus of the type last described has one or more valves which cut oif the jetting fluid while the li uid controlling valve or valves are open, an open to admit the jetting Huid when the liquid controlling f valve or valves are closed. Means are provided which automatically operate the valves in opposite directions as certain differential pressures of the liquid are reversed and reach predetermined values.

In some instances it has been proposed to ontrol the operation of thevalves by Bouron or similar resilient tubes. In the ent instance, it is proposed to control the valves automatically by the use of metallic bellows, made qreerably from drawn seamlessmaterial. do" not limit this invention to any particular type of bellows. rlhe bellows may be assisted or not, as the conditions may require, by a helical or other spring.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a central vertical section of a portion of an oil-well pumping apparatus containing one form of my 1nventi0n, parts lee-,

ing in side elevation; Fig. 2, a view of Fig. 1 rotated axially 90 degrees, the well casing, the tubing and the-check valve being omitted; Fig. 3, a view. like Fig. 2showing a modification of the invention; and Fig. 4, an enlarged central vertical section of a bellows broken away.

downwardly tapering seat 12, on which rests presy .walls provided with upwar above mentioned, one side of the same beingthe correspondingly tapered shoulder 13 on the hollow vertical special casing 14. The upper end of the casin 14 has the upstanding hollow threaded mpple or lange 39 to which is screwed the well tubing 15, which like the well casing 10 is understood to extend to the surface of the ground, where suitable apparatus is provided for supplying compressed gas, a term herein used to include air or other suitable gaseous material to the space 16 between the casing 10 and the tubing, and where suitable apparatus is furnished to receive the mingled oil and gas from the tubing, these two apparatuses being' well known and not requiring description or illustration herein.

The casing 14 has one or more passages 17 opening above into the space 16, and below into the chamber 18 in the casing. The chamber 18 has in its upper and lower walls the tandem valves 19 and 20, the latter being slightly smaller than the former. The' valves open upwardly away from their annular downwardly tapered seats 21 and 22, allowing at times communication of the chamber 18 upwardly with the chamber 23 in the casing 14, and downwardly with the chamber 24 also in the casing 14. l

Below the chamber 24 the casing 14 has another chamber 25 having its udplper and lower y converging valve seats 26 and 27 'adapted to the tandemI valves 28 and 29 connected in tandem to the valve 20 by the stem 30. The valves 28 and 29 allow attimesthe chamber 25 to communicate above with the chamber 24, and below with the chamber 31 in the casing 14.

Below the chamber 31 the casing 14 has another chamber 32 into which the opening 33 in the casing 14 delivers liquid to be pumped. rlhe opening 33 is in a threaded nipple 36 pendent from the lower end ot 'the casing 14. If required, a pipe 34 mayohe connected to the nipple by thel coupling 35. @ther lengths of pipe can be added to the pipe 34 if necessary or desirable. l

e` casing 14 has a chamber 37 above the chamber 23. 1t also has the passage 38 which connects the chamber 31 to the hollow in the nipple 39. The chher 23 communicates m@ -The upper end of the spring engages the under face of the lower head 45 of the bellows 46 hereinbefore described. The upper end of the bellows is closed by the head 47, connected by the nipple 48 screwed into the lower wall of the chamber 37 and into the head 47 so that the chamber 37 communicates with the interior of the bellows by way of the nipple. The valve 19 is connected to the head 45 by the stem 50.

49 are conventional overthrown toggles t connected to the"stem 30 and the walls of the chamber 24 to cause the valves to be quickly and fully seated after they have moved past the dead center line of the toggles.

The nipple 39 is provided within the tub-4 ing 15 withk the downwardly-seating check valve 51. g

The natural action of the bellows and the spring tends to hold the fluid and liquld controlling valves as they are in Flg. 2, .andto move them from the positions shown 1n Fig. 1 to those shown in Fig. 2. When the valves are as in Fig. 2, oil is supposed to be standing in the discharge column above the valves 28 and 29, this column standing in the passage 38 and the tubing 15. The oil in the well below the valves 28 and/29 always has access to the interior of the bellows. When the valves are as in Fig. 2, the pressure within the bellows is relieved to a degree from' what it is when the valves are as in Fig. 1, in which the oil from the strata is cut oil by the valves 28 and 29 from the discharge column. With the valves just positioned as in Fig. 2, the pressure within the bellows begins to build up while the pressure on the bottom of the bellows begins to decrease, owing to the jetting of the gas into the discharge' column from the space 16 yand the passages 17, the chambers 18, 23 and 24 and the ports 40 and 41. Eventually a time will arrive when thev differential of pressure within the bellows .will overcome the resistance of the bellows and the spring, whereupon the valves will be reversed or shifted to the positions shown in Fig. 1. Then gas ceases to aerate the discharge column and oil from the well again flows past the valves 28-and 29 to form a new discharge column. The pressure within the bellows gradually decreases and on the bottom of the bellows graduallyincreases until a balanced pressure within and without the bellows is approached to such a degree that the elasticity of the bellows and spring overcomes the excess pressure which has been holding the valves as in Fig. 1, whereupon the valves move to the positions shown in Fig. 2. Then aeration of the discharge column and the building up of a differential of pressure in the bellows begin again.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the parts are substantially as in Figs. 1 and 2, only the tandem downward series of bellows, spring, fluidcontrolling valves, and liquid-controlling valves have been inverted, or changedto an upward series in the same order, certain adaptations to this inversion being made in the casing containing these elements..

Parts in Fig. 3 which correspond to parts 1n Figs. 1 and 2,are given the same reference numerals with the prime mark added.

Wlth the parts as shown in Fig. 3 but seated in the well casing 10 of Fig. 1 with the shoulder 13 on the seat 12 of Fig. 1, the oil 1s. assumed to have already passed up the mpple 36 and the passage 42 and into the chamber 25', and thence beyond the valves 28 and 29 and through the upperpart 'of xpassage 38 and into the tubing 15. The

'valves 28 and 29 are now closed. The intenor of the bellows 46 issubje'ct to the buil-dlng-up pressure from'the oil bearing` st-rata, while the head 45 of the bellows is subjected to a downward diminishing pressure from oil in the lower part of the passage 38', the port 40 and the chamber 23. As the compressed gas ]etting from the passage 17 and from the chamber 18 into the oil in the passage 38and the tubing 15 is causing the discharge column of mixed oil and gas to become gradually lighter, a time arrives when the pressure on the top of the head 45 will drop relatively to the pressure on the lower sur` face thereof within the bellows so that the differential of pressure within 'the bellows `w1ll expand the bellows and compress the spring, whereupon the valves 19 and 20 will close andthe valves 28 and`29 will open. Oil then flows into the discharge passages as before 'unt-i1 the upward differential pres- 4sure on the head 45 becomes too weak to restrain the elasticity of the bellows and spring from closing the valves 28 and 29 and openmg the valves 19 and 20,', whereupon compressed gas is again admitted to the discharge column of oil and the described cycle is repeated automatically.

The function of the bellows is in some respects similar to that 'of al piston carried by the spring.

. I claim- 1. In a gas-lift pump for wells, a vertical condult in which liquid in the well rises, a valve dividing the column of liquid into two columns, and a resilient bellows connected to actuate the valve and having one surface in communication with the column below the valve and the other surface in communication with the column above the valve. A

2. In a gas-llft pump for wells, a vertical conduit in which liquid in the well rises, a valve dividing the column of liquid into two columns, a resilient bellows having one surface in communication with the column below the valve and the other surface in communication with the column above the valve, a conduit to supply compressed gas for aerating the upper column, a valve between the conduit andthe upper column, and means connecting together the bellows and both valves, so that-when one valve is open the other is closed, the resiliency of the bellows tending to open the gas-supplying valve and hold it closed.

3. In a gas-lift pump for wells, a vertical conduit in which liquid in the Well rises, a a valve dividing the column of liquid into two columns, a resilient bellows having one surface in communication with the column below the valve and the other surface in communication with the column above the valve, a conduit to supply compressed gas for areating the upper column, a valve between the conduit and the upper column, and means connecting together the bellows and both valves, so that when one valve is open the other is closed, the resiliency of the bellows 4tending to open the gas-supplying valve and hold it closed, in combination with a spring assisting the bellows in its said tendencies.

4. In a gas-lift pump for wells, a vertical vconduit in which liquid in the well rises, a valve dividing the column of liquid into two columns, a resilient bellows having one sur- 35 face in communication with the Column bey low the valve and the other surface in communication with the column above the valve, a conduit to supply compressed gas for aerating the upper column, a valve between the conduit and the upper column, and means connecting together the bellows and both valves, so that when one valve is open the other is closed, the resiliency of the bellows tending to openI the gas-supplying valve and hold it closed, in combination With-means preventing the closingofvthe gas supplying valve until the pressure transmitted tothe bellows from the lower column accumulates suiicient force to'close the said valve with snap action. t

5. In a gas-lift pump for wells, a vertical conduit in which liquid in thevr well rises, a valve dividing the column of liquid into two columns, a resilient bellows having one surface in communication with the column below the valve and the other surface in communication with the column above the valve,

preventing the closing of the gas supplying valve until the pressure .transmitted to the bellows from the lower column accumulates sufficient force to close the said valve with the gas supplying valve until the pressure so transmitted drops sufficiently to allow the bellows to open the said valve with a snap' action.

6. In a gas-lift pump for wells, an inlet conduit, an outlet conduit, a valve for controlling the passage of compressed gas from one conduit into the other, a resilient bellows tending to unseat the said valve, a valve to control the supply of liquid from the well to the outlet conduit, means connecting the valves so that when either is closed the other is open, means conveying the fluid below the second valve'to the bellows so that the pressure of the said fluid tends to cause the bellows to close the first valve when open and to hold it closed when closed, and means whereby pressure in the outlet conduit has communication with the bellows so as to apply pressure on the bellows tending to cause the latter to open the first valve and close the second valve.

7. In a gas-lift pump for Wells, an inlet conduit, an outlet conduit, a balanced valve controlling the iiow of liquid from the inlet conduit into the outlet conduit, and automatic means for operating the valve, vsuch means including a resilient bellows con` trolled by liquid in both conduits and passages connecting the conduits to therespec- 100 tive inner and outer surfaces ofthe bellows.

8. In a gas-lift pump for wells, an inlet conduit, an outlet conduit, a balanced valve controlling the flow of liquid from the inlet conduit into the outlet conduit, and auto- 105 matic means for operating the valve, such means including a resilient bellows controlled by liquid'in both conduits and passages connecting the conduits to the respective inner and outer surfaces of the bellows, in combina- 11d tion with means independent of the valve for delaying the movement of the valve.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

" MERTONFT. ARCHER.

a conduit to supply compressed gas for aerating the upper-column, a valve between the 60 conduit and the upper column, andv means connecting together the bellows and both` valves, so that when one valve is open the otheris closed, the resiliency of the bellows tending to open the gas-supplying valve and 65 hold it closed, in combination with means 

